逃离 (táo lí) — to flee; to escape from

Definition

verb
to fleeto escape from

Examples

  • 逃离。
    Tā lián yè táo lí le nà zuò chéng shì.
    He fled that city overnight.
  • 逃离。
    Xǔ duō rén shì tú táo lí zhàn huǒ.
    Many people tried to flee the war.
  • 逃离。
    Tā zhōng yú táo lí le nà ge lìng rén zhì xī de huán jìng.
    She finally escaped from that suffocating environment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

逃táoflee
离líleave

逃 and 离 both convey fleeing or leaving, so together they express escaping.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
兆
兆zhào逃táo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

逃 pairs 辶 (walk) with 兆, which gives the pronunciation.

Open 逃 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →
Appears in
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